Net securing device

ABSTRACT

A net fixing device for goalposts and other structures used in games and comprising a male member and a cooperating female member, one member being for permanent fixing to the goalpost and the other being for fixing to the net. Preferably, the female member is for fixing to the goalpost and the male member is for fixing to the net. The male member and the female member are interengagable to form a ball and socket joint. The female member may comprise a base plate which mounts a body member incorporating a socket, and having an open elongated slot in the body member projecting inwardly of a mouth of the socket. The male member may comprise a shank for engaging the slot and terminating in a bulbous head for engagement of the socket and in which the shank includes attachment means for a net.

This invention relates to a connector and in particular to a net fixingdevice for goalposts and other structures used in games.

There are major safety problems with goalposts used in football,hurling, hockey, soccer and other ball games in that in many instancesnets have been attached to the posts by the use of metal hooks or someother form of permanent fixtures. Injuries to players have beencommonplace on coming into contact with such fixing devices. Because ofthe increased emphasis on safety, the ruling authorities in many gameshave banned many of these fixing devices.

Various net fixing devices are known. For example, French PatentApplication No. 2707507 discloses goalposts and a cross-bar which aremade from an aluminium section having a groove of predetermined depthwhich allows the introduction of an aluminium T-piece for fixing thenetting on the posts and the bar with concealed hooks. Unfortunatelysuch a device is extremely expensive to make as, it requires extremelyexpensive posts and cross-members and generally is not very efficient inuse.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,266 discloses a net fastener device for securing anet to a soccer goal frame. Essentially a plurality of spaced-apartclips and hangers are provided around an edge of the net, the clips andhangers being engagable in associated channels or tracks fixed along arear face of the goal upright and the crossbar respectively.

European Patent Publication No. 502279 discloses another construction ofpost which are made in light metal and oval in section provided withinternal stiffening members. A central groove on one wall of the postholds a nut into which a threaded rod is put to secure a hook to fix thenet to the hook. Unfortunately such a hook provides a hazard for theplayers. Other proposals, for example, have been the use of VELCRO(Registered Trade Mark) Straps as disclosed for example in PCT patentpublication no. WO95/00214. Undoubtedly VELCRO Straps superficiallyappears to be a good way to provide such fixing since VELCRO is easilyremoved and refitted. Unfortunately, as everybody is aware, nets are notstored in perfect conditions, nets get contaminated and dirty and theVELCRO quickly loses its effectiveness.

There is indeed a need to provide a more efficient way of fixing nets togoalposts which obviates the need of tapes, wire wraps, straps, cord,etc. It is vital that any such fixing device should not alone be easy touse, but should be easily removed, because if not they will be torn offby those taking the nets down at the end of a match.

Essentially what is required is a safe, simple, time-saving, durable andeconomic net fixture. Such a safe fixture must ensure that there are nosharp projections to catch clothing or body and that all externalsurfaces and edges are smooth. Secondly, it must be simple in that anycomplicated attachments or complicated pieces of equipment of theirnature are difficult to use. It must be time-saving in that theattachment and the removal of the net must be simple and easy. Thedevices must be durable because if not, they are of little use and theymust be both weatherproof and vandal-proof. Finally, the components ofthe particular device must be capable of mass production and bemaintenance-free so that they can be cheaply and easily produced andwill last sufficient time to make the purchase economic.

According to the invention there is provided a net fixing device forgoalposts and other structures used in games comprising a male memberand a cooperating female member, one member for permanent fixing to thegoalpost and the other for fixing to the net. Preferably, the femalemember is for fixing to the goalpost and the male member is for fixingto the net.

Such a device overcomes the major problems of all heretofore known netfixing devices in that what is provided are two easily cooperatingpieces of equipment that can be engaged and disengaged relativelyeasily.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the male member and the femalemember are interengagable to form a ball and socket joint. Thisadvantageously allows secure engagement of the male member and femalemember in use.

In one embodiment of the invention the female member comprises a baseplate mounting a body member incorporating a socket, having an openelongated slot in the body member projecting inwardly of a mouth of thesocket and in which the male member comprises a shank for engaging theslot and terminating in a bulbous head for engagement of the socket andin which the shank includes attachment means for a net. By the use of anopen socket of this construction the net can be relatively easilymounted on the posts by simply slipping the male member into each femalemember while it can be removed almost by an "unzipping" action in thesense that once they start to be pulled upwards and away from the slot,they will all be pulled in the one direction and all the male memberswill quickly fall away releasing the net.

In a still further embodiment of the invention the bulbous head isrounded or a semi-sphere shape and in this embodiment a complementarycooperating underside surface of the adjacent slot of the female memberis arcuate. This configuration forms a ball and socket joint when themale and female members are interengaged. A cup is formed in the femalemember for reception of the rounded head. This arrangementadvantageously provides a secure engagement of the male and femalemembers in use, retaining the male member in engagement with the femalemember. This configuration allows relative smooth movement between themale and female members when any force is placed on the head such aswhen a ball is driven into the net or a player falls against it. Thisensures that the net will not be torn and it provides added safety andwill control the bounce of the ball against the net.

In another embodiment the bulbous head is a disc having a flat rear facefor engagement with an inner face of the socket. In this arrangementpreferably the head is an interference fit in the socket or some othermeans is provided to retain the head in engagement with the socket inuse.

In a preferred embodiment the flange is provided on the shankspaced-apart from the head, said flange being of greater width than theslot, portion of the shank between the head and the flange beingengagable with the slot.

In another embodiment the male member is an interference fit with thefemale member.

In a further embodiment the attachment means is releasable.Alternatively, the attachment means may be lockable on the net.

Conveniently the attachment means used to connect the shank to the netcan be a length of cord or a flexible strap incorporating strap lockingmeans. It is also envisaged that the shank might incorporate some formof plastics snap-on fitting to obviate the need for a flexibleconnector.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the strap locking means comprisesa buckle mounted at an inner end of the shank, the buckle having an eyefor through passage of free end of the strap, a strap retainingstructure mounted within the eye for engagement with complementary teethon the strap when the strap is drawn through the eye of the buckle.

In a further embodiment net gripping means is provided on the strap.Conveniently the net gripping means comprises grip projections on thestrap which are engagable with the net when the strap is mounted on thenet. This conveniently prevents movement of the strap on the net.

Preferably figure grip means is provided on the shank to facilitategripping the shank. The figure grip means may comprise a polarity ofupstanding ribs on the shank.

In a further embodiment there is provided a net fixing device forreleasable securing a net on a support such as a goalpost of like, thenet fixing device comprising;

a male member;

a female member for incorporating with the male member;

the male and female members having complementary interengagableformations for releasable engagement of the male member with the femalemember;

means for permanently fixing one member to the goalpost; and

means for fixing the other member to a net.

In a preferred embodiment the female member comprises a base platehaving means for fixing the base plate to the goalpost.

A body member on the base plate having a socket for reception of themale member.

A side wall of the socket having a slot.

The male member comprising a shank which is slidable engagable withinthe slot.

The shank having an inner end and an outer end.

A bogus head at the outer end of the shank. The head engagable with thesocket.

Attachment means at the inner end of the shank for engagement with thenet.

In another aspect the invention provides a net mounting kit comprising aplurality of the net fixing devices as claimed in any preceding claim.Typically the kit would comprise sufficient of the devices for mountingeither one net on one set of goalposts or more preferably two nets ontwo sets of goalposts.

In a further embodiment the net mounting kit further includes a holderhaving means to engage and support a male member of the net fixingdevice to engage the male member with or release the male member fromthe female member. This conveniently assists the mounting of the net onthe goalpost and practically on the cross bar of the goalpost.

Preferably the holder has a forked head for engagement with the shank ofthe male member.

Conveniently, the holder has a socket for mounting the holder on a pole.Thus for example the holder could be conveniently mounted and a free endof a broomhandler. The invention will be more clearly understood fromthe following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way ofexample only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of portion of a goalpost and a net fixingdevice according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of part of a goalpost with the net assembled;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a female member forming part of analternative construction of net fixing device according to theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the female member of FIG. 3along the lines IV--IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the female member of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a male member for use with the female member ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the male member of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of an alternative construction of malemember according to the invention;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the male member of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a typical cross-sectional view of the male member of FIG. 8

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the female member of FIGS. 3 and 4 incombination with the male member of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a rear elevational view of a soccer goalpost with a set offemale members mounted thereon;

FIG. 13 is a detail rear elevational view of a bottom end of an uprightof the goalpost; showing the mounting arrangement for the lowermostfemale member;

FIG. 14 is a detail side elevational view of the bottom end of theupright showing the attachment of a net to the upright using net fixingdevices accordingly to the invention;

FIG. 15 is an elevational view of a holder for mounting the male memberson the female members; and

FIG. 16 is a sectional elevational view of the holder of FIG. 15.

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, thereis illustrated a net fixing device, according to the invention,indicated generally by the reference numeral 1 mounting a net 2 on agoalpost 3. The net fixing device 1 comprises a female member 4 and amale member 5. The female member 4 comprises a base plate 6 with a bodymember 6a incorporating a socket 7, having an open elongated slot 8projecting inwardly of the socket mouth. It will be seen that the baseplate 6 is mounted on the goalpost 3 by screws 9 or rivets which engageassociated holes in the base plate 6. The male member 5 comprises abulbous head 23 formed from a pair of circular plates 10, 13 mounted ona shank 11 to which is connected a length of cord 12. The outer plate 10is engagable with the socket 7.

In use, when the male member 5 is connected by the cord 12 to the net 2,once the male member is offered up to the slot 8 and engages within thesocket 7, the net is securely connected to the goalpost 3. This isclearly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. When it is desired to remove thenet from the goalpost, it is a simple matter to pull or knock the cord12 upwards, disengaging the male member 5 from the female member 4.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 7 there is illustrated an alternativeconstruction of net fixing device, comprising a male member indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 20 and a female member indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 21. Parts similar to those describedwith reference to the previous drawings are identified by the samereference numerals. In this embodiment the female member 21 has adjacentthe slot 8 on the underneath surface thereof an arcuate surface 22forming a cupped inner end of the socket 7 and this cooperates with aspherical surface forming portion 10 of a bulbous head 23 on the malemember 20. This effectively forms a ball and socket joint when the maleand female members are engaged for secure engagement. An advantage ofthis arcuate surface and cooperating semi-spherical shaped portion 10 ofthe bulbous head 23 is that there is relative movement in a smooth waybetween the female member and the male member under any form of impacton the net 2.

Referring to FIGS. 9 to 11, there is illustrated an alternativeconstruction of male member indicated generally by the reference numeral5 for use in conjunction with the female member of FIGS. 3 and 4, thusthe female member is identified by the reference numeral 4 and partssimilar to those described with reference to the previous drawings areidentified by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment there isprovided a strap 41 on the end of the shank 11 which strap 41incorporates teeth 42, illustrated more clearly in FIG. 10, which areadapted to engage a strap retaining lug or spigot 43 mounted within abuckle 44. Net gripping projections 45 project outwardly of the sameside of the strap 41 as the teeth 42 to grip a net cord when the strap41 is secured to the net. This prevents sliding movement of the strap 41on the net. Figure grip ribs 47 project outwardly at each side of thebuckle 44. FIG. 11 shows the male member 5 in engagement with the femalemember 4 illustrating the ball and socket joint formed between thebulbous head 23 of the male member 5 and the arcuate surface 22 of thesocket 7. In use, to secure the male member 5 to the net a free end 48of the strap is led around a net cord at the edge of a net and deliveredup through an eye 49 of the buckle 44 as indicated by the arrows in FIG.11, the teeth 42 engaging the spigot at 43 to securely fix the malemember 5 on the net.

FIG. 12 shows a set of female members 4 mounted spaced-apart on thegoalpost 3 for supporting the net 2. FIGS. 13 and 14 shows a bottom endof an upright of the goalpost 3. It will be noted that the lowermostfemale member 4 mounted on the upright 50 is attached upsidedown toretain the net 2 securely at the bottom end of each upright 50. As canbe seen in FIG. 14 the lowermost edge of the net to is stretcheddownwardly to engage the lowermost male member 5 with the lowermostfemale member 21 on the upright 50, thus keeping the net taut.

It will be noted that the term goalpost as used throughout this PatentSpecification is taken to mean any goal frame or part thereof forsupporting a net.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16 there is shown a holder 60 for engaging andreleasing the male member 5 and female members 5. The holder 60 has aforked head 61 with a slot 62 for engaging the male member 40. A socket63 is provided in the holder 60 for mounting the holder on a pole or thelike for example for engaging and releasing the male and female membersalong an overhead crossbar of the goalpost. An opening 64 for a lockingscrew is provided in a sidewall of the socket 63.

Typically, in use a kit will be provided with a polarity of the netfixing devices sufficient for mounting a net on a goalpost or moreusually formatting two nets and two goalposts. Ideally, one of theholders 60 is included with each kit.

It will be appreciated that while the embodiments describe fixingdevices or connectors for attaching a net to a goalpost it is envisagedthat the connectors may be used in other applications. For example, theconnectors could be used for attachment of other netting to a supportstructure. Further, the connectors could be used for mounting covers andthe like such as tarpaulins on supports or trailers for example.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore describedwhich may be varied in both construction and detail.

What is claimed is:
 1. A net fixing device for goalposts and otherstructures used in games comprising:a male member and a cooperatingfemale member, one member for permanent fixing to the goalpost and theother for fixing to the net; wherein the female member comprises a baseplate mounted to a body member, the body member incorporating a socketwith a spherical concave inner surface, the female member having an openelongate slot in the body member projecting inwardly of a mouth of thesocket and extending to the inner surface, the male member comprising ashank for engaging the slot of the female member and terminating in abulbous head having a spherical convex outer surface for engagement ofthe inner surface of the socket, the shank including attachment meansfor engagement with a net.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein themale and female members form a ball and socket joint when the male andfemale members are interengaged.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1wherein a flange is provided on the shank in a spaced-apart relationshipfrom the head, said flange being of greater width than the slot, aportion of the shank between the head and the flange being engagablewith the slot.
 4. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the male memberis adapted to produce an interference fit with the female member.
 5. Adevice as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attachment means is releasable.6. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the attachment means used toconnect the shank to the net is a length of cord extending outwardlyfrom the shank.
 7. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the attachmentmeans is lockable on the net.
 8. A device as claimed in claim 10 whereinthe attachment means used to connect the shank to the net is a flexiblestrap incorporating strap locking means.
 9. A device as claimed in claim8 wherein the strap locking means comprises a buckle mounted at an innerend of the shank, the buckle having an eye for through passage of a freeend of the strap, a strap retaining lug mounted within the eye forengagement with complementary teeth on the strap when the strap is drawnthrough the eye of the buckle.
 10. A device as claimed in claim 8additionally comprising net gripping means on the strap.
 11. A device asclaimed in claim 10 wherein the net gripping means comprises gripprojections on the strap which are engagable with the net when the strapis mounted on the net.
 12. A device as claimed in claim 1 additionallycomprising finger grip means on the shank.
 13. A device as claimed inclaim 12 wherein the finger grip means comprises a plurality ofupstanding ribs on the shank.
 14. A net mounting kit comprising.aplurality of net fixing devices, each net fixing device including: amale member and a cooperating female member, one member for permanentfixing to the goalpost and the other for fixing to the net; wherein thefemale member comprises a base plate mounted to a body member, the bodymember incorporating a socket with a spherical concave inner surface,the female member having an open elongate slot in the body memberprojecting inwardly of a mouth of the socket and extending to the innersurface, the male member comprising a shank for engaging the slot of thefemale member and terminating in a bulbous head having a sphericalconvex outer surface for engagement of the inner surface of the socket,the shank including attachment means for engagement with a net.
 15. Anet mounting kit as claimed in claim 14 which further includes a holderhaving means to engage and support one of the male members of the netfixing device to engage the male member with or release the male memberfrom the female member.
 16. A net mounting kit as claimed in claim 15wherein the holder has a forked head for engagement with the shank ofthe male member.
 17. A net mounting kit as claim in claim 15 wherein theholder has a socket for mounting the holder on a pole.
 18. A net fixingdevice for goalposts and other structures used in games comprising:amale member and a cooperating female member, one member for permanentfixing to the goalpost and the other for fixing to the net; wherein thefemale member comprises a base plate mounted to a body member, the bodymember incorporating a socket with a spherical concave inner surface,the female member having an open elongate slot in the body memberprojecting inwardly of a mouth of the socket and extending to the innersurface, the male member comprising a shank for engaging the slot of thefemale member and terminating in a bulbous head having a sphericalconvex outer surface for engagement of the inner surface of the socket,the shank including attachment means for engagement with a net; whereina flange is provided on the shank in a spaced-apart relationship fromthe head, said flange being of greater width than the slot, a portion ofthe shank between the head and the flange being engagable with the slot;wherein the shank of the male member is adapted to produce aninterference fit with the slot of the female member; wherein theattachment means is releasable; wherein the attachment means used toconnect the shank to the net is a length of cord extending outwardlyfrom the shank; wherein the attachment means is lockable on the net; andwherein the attachment means used to connect the shank to the net is aflexible strap incorporating strap locking means, the strap lockingmeans comprises a buckle mounted at an inner end of the shank, thebuckle having an eye for through passage of a free end of the strap, astrap retaining lug mounted within the eye for engagement withcomplementary teeth on the strap when the strap is drawn through the eyeof the buckle, net gripping means on the strap, the net gripping meanscomprising grip projections on the strap which are engagable with thenet when the strap is mounted on the net, and finger grip means formedon the shank and comprising a plurality of upstanding ribs on the shank.